Aquilano Rimondi

"Fashion is at once both caterpillar and butterfly.  Be a caterpillar by day and a butterfly at night... There must be dresses that crawl and dresses that fly."

-Coco Chanel

Aquilano Rimondi's Spring 2011 collection is one of the many to reflect on the "radical chic" era of the late 1960's and 70's, a term coined by American writer Tom Wolfe.  Throughout the duration of this period, young counter culture became synonymous with anti-materialism; wherein the young and trendy took to wearing secondhand apparel and adopted the "vintage" look.  It was a time that allowed for all sectors of society to participate in the fashion parade.  According to Caroline Evans, "Similar to nineteenth century dandyism, getting it right depended more on originality and talent than on money."

Being that much of the world is in a state of financial ruin, designers are having to deal with the socio-political and financial impacts of what is now considered the Great Recession. Vintage and vintage inspired fashion trends have been all the rage for the past few seasons because they provide a way for style conscious women to maintain their sense of fashion without going bankrupt.  We've seen top stylists like Rachel Zoe obsess over just about anything vintage, and designers like Aquilano Rimondi have definitely taken notice of this notion.  Their S/S 2011 collection was inundated with colors and patterns that make me want to listen to a Beetles Album... Sergeant Pepper in particular.

Here are my top five favorite looks from their collection:

All Pictures from Vogue.com